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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Great Singaporean Flavours at Street 50 Restaurant & Bar, Singapore

Happy National Day, Singapore!

During lunch time yesterday, B, our former intern, came to join us as it was also M's (another intern) last day. B is leaving for the UK in a month's time to pursue her university studies and I asked her one thing -- "What Singaporean dish will you miss when you're away?" She answered "Laksa" in a heartbeat and this got the rest of us thinking too. While I may not be born Singaporean, but having lived here for a couple of years; I know that if ever I leave this beautiful country, I will definitely be missing that delicious plate of Char Kway Teow over time.

So, while I can, I'm stuffing myself with all the delicious local dishes that I can have. Recently, Paul and I went back to Street 50 Restaurant and Bar and we were introduced to a couple of the additions to their menu. I have to admit that our first "egg-perience" at Street 50 wasn't very memorable as we were not too crazy about all those egg-loaded dishes but we are firm believers that some things deserve a 2nd chance and Street 50 is one of those.

Our dinner began with a crunchy piece of Salted Egg Lava Chicken Breast (S$9.90). Add salted egg to practically anything and I assure you that you'll get a lot of oohs and ahhs in every bite. We're all crazy about salted egg and I'm happy to share that this one was a delicious creation. I love how the strong salted egg flavor helped perked up the relatively flavor-less chicken breast. The chicken stayed tender inside and really crunchy outside so it was just so delightful. Look at all that cheese and salted egg oozing out from inside.

We also tried the Coffee Wings (S$7.90) which is a popular zi char item here in Singapore. Meaty chicken wings which were completely coated in sweet coffee syrup.

For those who wants more salted egg goodness, then try the Soft Shell Crab with Salted Egg Dip (S$7.90). I personally prefer the chicken more as I'm not so crazy about soft-shell crabs as I don't like biting into the tiny crab shells but the rest of my dinner companions loved it so I guess taste is once again very subjective.

Moving on, we had the XO Scallop and Prawns Fried Rice (S$9.90). Oh this one was so delish! I love scallops and prawns and add a generous amount of XO sauce then you got a winner. This actually can be a meal on its own or it goes pretty well with all the dishes that we had that evening. I highly recommend this.

We also tried the Cereal Prawns with Wasabi Dressing (S$9.90) another zi char specialty. It was so thoughtful of the Chef to de-shell the prawns though making it more easy and enjoyable to eat. I just hate having the yummy cereals stuck to the shells which you eventually have to discard anyway. Here, you can enjoy all the cereals coating the shrimps up until the last bit.

Then comes my favorite -- Oyster Char Kway Teow (S$12.90). Normally, Char Kway Teow in hawkers are cooked with cockles but Street 50 has elevated this by adding huge, plump oysters instead. Each bite was just so yummy and I would definitely go back to Street 50 just for this. Not only did they add in oysters, you also get a generous amount of prawns, kai lan and mushrooms too.

At this point, Paul and I agreed that we made a good choice in giving Street 50 Restaurant and Bar a second chance. Can you just imagine the things that we will be missing out on if we chose to say no to this forever?

Next, we had two styles of Curry Fish Heads. One is the Indian version which is not extremely spicy and is very rich and savory. I personally liked this one as it has a very familiar, traditional taste. I love scooping some of the soup into a bowl and pouring this onto my rice. The fish was so tender and look at that big serving size. For only S$18.90, I'd say this is definitely value for money!

Meanwhile, Paul lovessss the second type -- the Claypot Assam Fish Head which is loaded with chopped tomatoes and simmered in sour assam gravy. This reminds me of the Filipino Sinigang as it has a strong sour after taste which Paul loves very much. Similarly, the size of this fish head is huge and can definitely be shared by 3-4 people.

What a feast! I don't think we'll ever get tired of Singaporean dishes as each has multiple layers of taste profile and it somehow gives you a nice comforting feeling in every bite. We just kept on saying how delicious and good each dish was. Indeed, it was one of the best dinners we've had this year.

For dessert, we had the very refreshing Coconut Malibu (S$8.90) which is a scoop of homemade coconut ice cream topped with watermelon and melon finished with some rainbow sprinkles. I really appreciate restaurants who ensures to serve good quality desserts too. The worst thing is to enjoy the entire meal and everything goes downhill as soon as dessert is served. This is definitely not the case for Street 50 as we enjoyed our meal from start to end.Check out Street 50 Restaurant and Bar at Bay Hotel Singapore, 50 Telok Blangah Road, Singapore 098828. For reservations, call them at 6818-6681.